I can't stand the NBA regular season because there is a "coasting" that takes place. The players have to coast because they are playing 82 games. At best, they play hard on both ends the last minute or two of a quarter, but I have heard it said that "there is nothing more irrelevant than the first 3 1/2 quarters of an NBA game." The goal seems to be that you coast as much as you can, try to have a couple of spurts, keep the game within reach, and the first 3 1/2 quarters set up the last 5 or 6 minutes where you really try to win the game.
If you watch only the last 5 minutes of an NBA game, the vast majority of the time, you have seen the substance of the game. My sense is that most NBA games are 75-80% show production with the other 20-25% being a competitive sport - mostly just at the end. If you want to see the best players in the world playing basketball with a show, then the NBA is for you. I just resent the show part of it.
The intensity and competition goes up a good notch in the post-season, and the game gets better, but give me the effort and intensity of a HS district final or any game in the NCAA tournament over the NBA playoffs. I recognize the relative popularity of NBA basketball, but I think that popularity could be very fragile. It seems to rely on its stars, especially several stars who come together to play on one team. I would liken it to boxing. If Ali, Frazier, Leonard, Hagler, Tyson, etc are fighting, then people are tuning in and buying tickets. If you have no idea who these guys are, and no affinity for them, you don't follow boxing. I suppose there are enough present superstars in pro basketball, but your Magics, Birds, MJs, Lebrons, etc. are a small and limited group. If the NBA finds itself without a true superstar, I think their following will tank.
Segueing back to the topic, if the NBA is a hard sell to some people, when you have the same show factor with the WNBA, given what seems to be a common aversion to watching females play the game, the show and the game isn't very appealing, and you end up with empty arenas and miniscule TV ratings.